Poems (Merrill)/Home is Where the Heart Dwells

by Clara A. Merrill

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART DWELLS

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Would I leave my home—my native hills
 For the city by the sea—
Or leave the lane where the woodbine swings
 And all is dear to me?
Would I leave my birds for the stately ships
 That sail in the harbor blue—
Leave the flowers, fresh from the hand of God
 And kissed by the morning dew?

Would I leave my cot for a mansion grand
 In the city by the sea,—
Or leave the friends whom I long have loved
 Who are so dear to me?
Would I leave my bower mid the roses sweet
 Where the sun shines bright and fair—
Leave my pleasant strolls in the forest glade
 In the country's fragrant air?

Nay, I'd not leave my peaceful hill
 For the city by the sea—
Here earliest recollection clings
 And all is dear to me.—
I'd not leave my cot where the willows wave
 For the city's proudest dome!
Where e'er the heart in fondness dwells
 To me is "Home Sweet Home."